Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 4 months since my last post!

I had a busier than usual summer followed by a busier than usual fall and now, here we go, it’s almost time for the holidays!

I have so many new recipes, stories and photos to share so I’m just sitting here wondering where to begin…

I could show pictures of our new kitchen counter tops or pictures from our latest adventures, BUT, you know where my heart really lies: Food & Rocco!

Let’s start with this soup. On the surface it sounds really boring: carrot soup, bleh. But I promise you, this one is worth a try! I’ve been eating it for 3 weeks straight and I’m still not sick of it. It is very light and warming and just perfect for this time of year. I also love that it takes about 10 minutes to prepare (using a food processor) and then it just passively cooks the rest of the time. Perfect for those hurried Sunday evenings when you reeeeeeallly don’t want to cook your lunches for the week!

And as a side note, you’ll notice there’s TOFU in this recipe! That’s right, sometime in the last 4 months I started sliding back into my veggie ways. I’m not following any strict regimens these days. I’m not vegan, I’m not paleo, I’m just eating what feels good to my body. For the most part I’ve gone back to a plant based diet but I’m not shunning the odd egg or cheesecake or piece of bread slathered in butter. I’ll do a “what I’m eating now” post soon. How exciting…not!

And of course there’s Rocco! My sweet, sweet, Rocco. If you need more Rocco in your life, follow him on Instagram @Rocco_the_Minpin. I do post pictures of him regularly.

4 months ago he was still recovering from that mystery illness. We still have no idea what caused him to get so sick. We think he might have been bitten by a Black Widow spider but some people say he would have had necrotic tissue or we at least would have seen some swelling. He had absolutely no bite mark but all the symptoms were that of a Black Widow bite. Paralysis, sudden illness…it was so bad.

It actually took him 8 weeks to fully recover and regain all of his usual behaviors. And now he is so great! Maybe even better than before because now he seems to understand that we saved his life so he has a deeper level of trust for us.

Here are 2 Rocco highlights:

1. I taught him how to “give me a hug” when I get home from work. This melts my heart. You can watch the video here: https://goo.gl/photos/mpU7j6tqbGYJ4pXi6
2. And I also taught him “snuggle time with Mom”. If I sit down and yell “Rocco, snuggle time with Mom!” he will come running from wherever he’s been and dive under the blanket.

Alright, here is that soup recipe!

Creamy Carrot Curry Soup

• 6 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons diced garlic
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 block extra firm or firm tofu (from refrigerated section), cubed

If you have a food processor, use it as it will make this recipe very easy and fast to prepare.

Heat coconut oil in a medium size saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the ginger, garlic, curry, turmeric & salt and cook 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.

Next, add the chopped carrot, vegetable broth and coconut milk and stir. Increase heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then blend either using a regular blender or an immersion (stick) blender.

Transfer blended soup to a large bowl/corning-ware dish and add in the diced tofu.

Well it’s so good to be back and I promise I will be back soon with what I’ve been having for breakfast every single morning for the last few months!

Laura